GOD & TIME

I have read the "A brief history of Time" by Dr. Stephen Hawkings, 2 times. This I did to try to understand the origin of the universe (which is explained in the most layman language).

It clearly says that the universe might have started with the Big Bang and could possibly end with the Big Crunch.

TIME, which is my mystery dimension, is explained to have its origin with the Big Bang. The universe started from a immensely dense dot, which exploded. So, there was nothing like SPACE & TIME before the Big Bang.

Afterwards, I started pondering how come 15 million years have gone by and why are SPACE and TIME so enormous. I started to think with my spiritual mind and pondered why are we (the humans) so insignificant in the scale of SPACE (where everything is measures in LIGHT-YEARS) and TIME (which is in billions of years) when considering the universe.

GOD is the only element here who could have started all this and sustained this. But for this to happen, we need to assume that:
1) SPACE and TIME are the dimensions specific to our universe only.
2) GOD is in a different dimension which does not have SPACE and TIME limitations. Maybe there are some other dimensions in HEAVENS (or maybe "Heaven" itself is the name of that dimension).
3) GOD is not affected by TIME. That means the 15 billion years after "The Big-Bang" has no bearing on GOD. He is totally oblivious and untouched by the passage of time.

Based on this assumption, the following can be deduced:
1) From the perspective of GOD, creation might not be that long time ago.
2) Maybe the 6 days of creation spanned billions of human (earthy) years. For God, it might be just the 7 days (or it is just a human interpretation of the creation time-frame).
3) There must be a practical limit to the Space-time of the current Universe where the Space & Time ends or loops back to zero.

Consider the analogy from the animated movie "Horton hears a Who". The movie is about a whole "unknown universe" inside a speck. Horton (who is an elephant) rescues this speck and therefore saves the universe existing within that speck. Similarly, the universe, which we see, might be contained in some bigger container in which GOD resides.

It is difficult for me to imagine that the current universe is endless and that time is endless too. Both of them might actually be curved in such a way that it loops back to itself. [This is taken from the book I read]. 

Just like the surface of earth, which is completely spherical. For a person on earth, there is no boundary or limit on the surface of earth. One can go round and round endlessly, without realizing that they have looped back to the start.

Similarly, we can safely assume that the existing universe is spherical in 4 dimensions. It loops back to itself and we are so insignificant that we cannot even comprehend this loopback. Because of the forces of nature and the colossal scales of existing Space and Time, the numbers are too much for us. But maybe for GOD, these scales are not significant. The universe might not be that big as we fear.

4) The BigBang can be therefore be externally stimulated by GOD for the start of creation. Since then it seems a very long time. But GOD is not affected by the time, since there is no time dimension in heaven. Therefore for GOD, creation might not even be a thing of the past. But I agree that thinking about the heaven, where there is no time is beyond my physical capability.

5) That also could eliminate birth and death in heaven because nobody ages there. Whatever and whoever is there, in the Heaven, lives for eternity. Time has stood still in the full literal sense.

Love, NVG

Divisions in the Christian Church

I have many friends (and one family member) who take pride telling me how they have started a new Church for the "newly born" and converted Christians. They have painstakingly established new churches, written the liturgy in the local languages, inducted many more "non-Christians" into Christianity.

BRAVO. I appreciate the huge efforts to get something like this happening. There is a huge spiritual awakening that these "modern day missionaries" have brought onto our societies.

On the other hand, consider the huge division they have made in the church which Christ built. Let me start by stating that during the early history of the Christianity, there were no Catholics or Protestants. The early followers followed the simple rules laid down by the Apostles. It was only when the church grew in size and politics started to grow within, that the divisions became inevitable. Knowingly or unknowingly, many of the early church-leaders started to think selfish and instead of doing what was good for the church, actually harmed it by dividing it for their own benefit.

Many of you would argue, what is wrong with building a church for the many Hindus (read "non-Christians"), who could otherwise not join any regular church. I agree with this logic.

But the solution is never to build a new division or sect in the church. No one tried to rectify the root cause. Everyone just tried to take the easier way out and make a new group (independent of the other). No objection or harm done to the existing churches.

I clearly disapprove this logic because I am sure that Jesus never wanted this to happen.

Christianity (and for that matter any other religions) teach equality and unity. There must never be a division because that is something which GOD never wanted. If you are a missionary (whether with sense of noble cause or a selfish cause) and has made another split in the church, then you have sinned "big-time" in the sight of GOD.

One simple thing to ask here is whether in the long run, differences between these sects would grow or would they fade away. I think that the differences would only grow. In the end, it would be Jesus who has failed in preserving the right philosophy of Christianity. And the blame comes upon modern day missionaries like some of my friends and one of my family member.

If you are unable to unite the people, at least refrain from dividing them. What these friends of mine actually consider HOLY work and a Christian's Mission; is rather a sin for which they could be punished.

I do not have a road-map or plan to unite all denominations of Christianity, but at least, I am not trying to make a new denomination just to prove my point of view.

I am sorry; I am born with a special skill of understanding the other side of every coin. While many of you consider somethings good and close your eyes to the other evil side of those, I usually start by looking at the dark side first.

Love, NVG

Christians BEWARE!!!!

It is clearly written in several places in the New Testament of the Bible that in the "End of Days", there would be several "imposters" or "fakes" who would appear in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They would perform miracles and proclaim their version of the gospels.

Jesus and (particularly) St. Paul have warned all believers to be careful and do not fall in their trap. These so called "prophets" would be using the name of Jesus and the Church which HE established to lure away the believers into mistaken beliefs and false Christianity.

Let us try to put question marks on the emergence of the following sects of Christianity and they way they have grown with their "mistaken" belief of being the real "Masihi"

1) The Pentecostal Community

2) Pota Fathers & their "miracles"

3) 7th Day Adventists

4) Influential Preachers like Dr. D.G.S Dinakaran of Jesus Calls, Chennai

5) All other smaller modern churches.

Even though, most of the above "Preachers" may be perceived as harmless and rather helpful for the growth of spiritual Christianity, I would still put them in the same brackets of FAKE.

If the Bible is to be believed, then it has to be believed in the literal sense. There must not be any special interpretation, other than what is literally written there. I would discuss on this matter in my next blog.

For now, I am taking the "clear-cut" warning seriously and openly disapproving the existence of the many pastors and preachers who have molded the Bible to facilitate the division of the Church of Jesus. Most of these "new age" preachers have unknowingly done grave sin in the name of preaching the true version of Christianity.

BEWARE because the end is near!!

Love, NVG

HOPE

HOPE is a very powerful thing. This is one of the 4 basic instincts of all organisms. To clarify, what the 4 basic instincts are:
a) Nutrition: to keep one alive.
b) Reproduction: to keep one's species alive.
c) Territory: to keep/protect one's area/territory.
d) Hope: the feeling that things would be better in the future.

Consider a "brain-less" snail, which keeps on dragging itself in a direction, depending on its premitive senses in the hope of finding some food or even a mate.

Every organizm has some form of hope, whether they know it or not. HOPE is the essense of life. And since humans are on the top of the evolutionary tree, HOPE has the highest value for us, humans.

We shall overcome.. we shall overcome.. we shall overcome.. someday!
So deep in my heart, I do believe.. that we shall overcome.. someday!!

Such wonderful inspiring words from a great poet. It shows how important a good feeling is, for our existense. The world is hoping for a peaceful future where everyone has enough to eat and enough oppurtinities to develop. Quite a good hope that we all carry.

Religion is the bandwagon, which carries all our hopes. Humans, found out that things would never be better, when left in the hands of other fellow humans. The only hope is to have a super-natural being who can carry this load and give us the true sense of HOPE.

Thus, it became that "GOD is HOPE". GOD is primarily a great help in the survival of the humans (through the continuity of the eternal HOPE).

It is a wonderful feeling and from my perspective, believers are really happy people. It has been proved in some statistical research, that people who believe in GOD and pray daily, actually live happier lives (compared to the atheists). This is truelly wonderful and there are serious reasons behind that. The greatest reason is HOPE.

By placing all hopes of a better future and blessings, we humans can continue with our daily lives in a more "worry-free" manner. GOD is there to share the problems and responsibilities. The UNSEEN HELP, the OMNIPRESENT PROTECTOR, etc; all these are very HOPE-inspiring traits of any religion.

Be it any religion, the idea and basic essence of all of them is HOPE. The hope that things would be better than today.

Prayers are the means of communication with the GOD, which shows how much we hope for things to be better and how much we trust in our "Eternal Hope".

LIVE A LIFE FILLED WITH HOPE...

Love, NVG

Prayers & Worship

It is very difficult to prove but my understanding is that the prayers which people say are reaching no-one. There is no-one who is hearing and answering our prayers.

Actually to start with I want to tell you guys that when I was a teenager, I actually gave a sermon in our church about Prayers. I said that each prayer is answered. Sometime what we have prayed for happens and that means GOD accepted our prayers in the affirmative and if what we asked did not happen, then it simply means that this was not GOD's wish. So in any case you know that your prayers were answered; either in a YES or NO.

Very powerful logic used above and it works for many of us. But of late, I have applied mathematics and found that this is more of a chance game than anyone really assisting us.

Take for example, I have final exams coming soon. I need to work hard and study well to pass. Obviously, all students pray for good marks too. Therefore it is a fact that prayers and hard-work go together during ever exams for each student.

Now I wondered, if prayers were really that powerful, why not just pray and let GOD help me pass (without studies). We all know that this is rubbish. We need to study or we will fail. Many will also say that "God helps those who help themselves". Very powerful and well-known saying that is.

So, another logic I had to apply. In my class, I was not the brightest. It was some Hindu boys who took the top 10 spots. I wondered why "their GOD" answered their prayers and made them the toppers, while my GOD was so reluctant to help me reach the top spot. I did not leave any stone unturned in prayers and neither do I think that I was not putting in the correct level of efforts. But still my GOD lacked something which the Hindu GOD was good at.

Then the final solution I found about this was that every man is born with some "skills" (in this case academic intelligence). The topper students were able to grasp and remember things better than me. They were able to score better with their better memory and pattern of studying. I was lacking those skills. Any amount of prayers could not set the equation right.

In my previous blogs named "Destiny", I have mentioned about this set of skills which each human possesses. These skills make him/her the winner or the looser. Prayers are just a psychological tool to keep the mind contented.

So, I conclude that there is no GOD who is answering my prayers. There is no use of the prayers and worship which we offer because it is reaching no-one. Most of the prayers are basically rituals which we are following because they are part of our lives. The difference between the winner and the looser is basically the attitude, planning and hard-work.

I define success as a combination of the following 3 traits:

1) Attitude: This is the right frame of mind, able to think productively.

2) Planning: No success without planning and able to fore-see problems.

3) Hard-work: The right efforts in the right directions in the right time.

No luck or prayer can beat this. So, my question is "Why to waste our time in prayers and worship?" Prayers just make us dependent and give us an excuse to blame GOD for our failures.

Love, NVG

Biblical Revelations is a hoax

St. John (who also wrote the Epistle of St. John) dreamed of the end of time when there would be lots of catastrophes and when the final battle between good and evil be fought. He described 

1) the Beast with 7 heads and 7 horns. 

2) The harlot who commands that beast. 

3) The anti-Christ and his 666 code.

4) The coming of Jesus on a white horse

5) The eternal kingdom that would be established.

A unique piece of fortune telling but none the less it is just a another book of predictions.

When I was in school, I watched the acclaimed movie/documentary about Nostradamus the famous “predictor” of the medieval times. The movie was named “The man who saw tomorrow”. I was so much influenced by that movie that for some days, I was telling everyone the predictions which Nostradamus wrote. He wrote about how the “new king will kill the old king”; how the “frog-men” would fly; how the nations of the world would fight.

One thing which is common in what Nostradamus wrote and what St. John wrote was the heavy use of Symbolism. The revelations and predictions are never “up to the point”. They are like “beating around the bush”, always generalized and always in-accurate.

The reason why fortune-tellers use symbols and cryptic clues is that they do not want to be accurate. Leaving the results to the interpretation of the common-man is a safe option. Even if 1% of what you said “in general” comes out correct, then your whole prediction can be deemed correct.

Take for example our own home-grown “Bejan Daruwala”. He knows nothing and I have never seen any of his predictions coming true (even to the extent of 20%). But he is still releasing his yearly predictions in leading newspapers and magazines.

What is with the common-man? We are always fascinated by things which we cannot explain and predictions is such a mystery for everyone. Fortune-tellers utilize this mysticism and use confusing and “multiple meaning words” to make a general prediction. Same for palmist and sadhu-babas who tell our future for a mere Rs. 20.

For example, consider a prediction: “It would be a good year for India this year”.

No-one bothered to give the details; whether the crops would be good or still better the rice crops would be good. Nothing detailed like that. Just plan “multiple meaning” “good year”. Now each one of us can see something good happening in that year and easily “join the dots” and interpret that prediction as coming true.

I question the authenticity of the book of Revelations because it is another of the piece of “human” work. Even if there are lots of fundamental Christian beliefs embedded in this book, like the second coming of the Christ, it basically fails to be an accurate account of what St. John claims.

Unlike a lot of historical books of the old & new Testaments, which are historically and religiously accurate, Revelations is intentionally written in symbols. I question why St. John had to use symbols like the beast or the harlot if he actually saw the future. Or did he really see a fancy cartoon show in his dreams with a 7 headed dragon and lot of fire-works. If the word has come from GOD, then it must be accurate and precise. With correct dates and events and correct name of the people & places involved. But that was too risky for St. John because he did not see any future. He did what every common-man, (wanting to be popular) does and that is making fake predictions based on symbols and cryptic-ism. Then leave the rest to people's imagination and interpretations.

I have studied the Bible and I have studied various other books which describe and try to interpret what the symbols of Revelations mean. I have at least 10 different versions for the 7-headed beast and the Harlot. Some interpretations say that the Catholic Church headed at Rome is that beast because Rome is also called the “City of Seven Hills”. The Pope would therefore be the Harlot who commands the beast and would (in the end) fight Jesus Christ. What not???

Had Albert Einstein done his works in such symbolism and given nothing concrete as evidence of mathematical proof, then he would never had got the acclaim which he now deserves. We need men of action and not men who create confusion.

Had Jesus intended the flow of correct information to his disciples, then he would have given clear-cut instructions without chances of wrong interpretations. Whenever you give a puzzle to humans, each one would analyse that in a different angle and perspective. There would never be a correct result. With Revelations, it seems as a contradiction that the source of these predictions is a divine being.

St. John did what Bejan Daruwala and Nostradamus did best: Create a fantasy and let it loose among the “already confused common-man”.

Love, NVG

The Merciful or Merciless GOD

The Merciful or Merciless GOD

Another of my anti-faith blogs coming your way.

God is merciful to those who believe in HIM. On the other hand, he is a merciless punisher to those who oppose HIM and HIS people. I hope that this is something which we all agree upon.

We all know about the kindness which GOD has showered on humans at different historical times. But here I am highlighting those particular instances, when “as per the Bible and other religious scriptures” GOD has allowed (read commanded) blood-shed and destruction.

1)      The Israelites killed and destroyed all cities which lay in their path on their way (during Exodus) to the promised-land. GOD commanded every man, woman and child to be killed in those cities because they were “infidels” & idol-worshippers.

2)      The complete destruction of the Egyptian army, who tried to stop the Israelites from leaving Egypt (during Exodus).

3)      The destruction of Gomorrah and Sodom with fire.

4)      The destruction and 7 curses on Egyptians during Moses time.

5)      The great flood of Noah, where the whole creation was almost destroyed.

6)      The brutal and painful execution of Jesus Christ (as seen in the movie “The Passion of the Christ”).

There are many more of such violent records of punishment directed from GOD.  GOD is the life-giver and as per his pact with humans, we are allowed to have our own free-will. Then why such punishment?

Why is GOD not merciful to sinners? (I will discuss the concept of Sin in my next blog). Why the punishment? Why not even the babies were spared? When everyone tries to overlook at the brutal side of the divine, I am wondering, what sort of bloody punishment is in store for me for my “bold queries”?

And in the end, I want to contradict myself (to give you guys a chance to know that NVG is not always right).  “GOD’s thinking and the plan for mankind is totally incomprehensible for the human mind. If we can think like GOD, then we are GOD. And if GOD starts thinking like humans, then HE is not GOD. We can never understand HIM with our human minds. Our brains are too negligible before HIS!!”

Love, NVG